Community

Feb 11, 2013 -- 10:35PM, tanuki-mario wrote:

Like you said, you are exploiting this site for exposure, to further your writing career.

Why else would you be so reluctant to simply post your article here?

After all this a text based message board... but that doesn't meet your criteria for posting an "article"?

I'm not going to follow your link, because I shouldn't have to. Therefore, this thread has nothing to offer and is nothing more than advertising an for outside site. Just because you are the author of the thread and the author of the article does not mean your post is anything short a lazily assembled post containing nothing more than a title and a link to an outside site, designed to direct traffic from this site to yours.

Post your information here, so that way I can read it and discuss it. Otherwise, please stop using this site for advertising.

Sidenote: This is my feedback. Hope you appreciate it.

Wy are you hating so much on Ty guy?  All he has done is provide articles that have increased the a discussion on this board.  That in itself promotes more people to post on this forum. The articles are well written and always relevant to my interests, and they always promote discussion.  

Gusse what there are a lot of other sites dedicated to Magic.  I know I was surprised to find that out too.  I even happen to enjoy reading some other EDH forums.  Am I a traitor?  Should I get the ban hammer for reading other forums?  So why are you out for his blood?  He already explained why he doesn't post these as there own thread.  And get famous writing about magic cards I really had a good laugh about that .  Thanks I like to start my mornings with a good laugh. But seriousley the guy writes good articles that promote good discussion.  Discussion that your inflammatory posts can only quell.  So shame on you sir for attacking some one who is only trying to bring knowledge and conversation to a format that is often over looked.  That is my feedback to you. Hope you appreciate it 

Feb 12, 2013 -- 4:48AM, Disturbed185 wrote:

I don't see him actually advertising a product. He receives no monetary incentive for writing said articles. I think it's time to go buddy. Let him do his thing.

@Tremor: I agree that Mana Drain is the best counterspell in magic...in a vacuum. However, in practice I'd still argue that Cryptic Command is better.

I agree that cryptic command can be game breaking.  Especially when using it a counter spell and tapping all creatures and swinging for win.  But Mana drain OMG.  Imagine this scenerio.  Your on the draw and you mana drain someones turn five spell if you havent missed a land drop that puts you at 10 mana turn 5  thats time stretch- Eldrazi range turn 5 and that assumes you havent ramped.  Thats entwined tooth and nail to combo out for my Riku deck.  So While it pains me to addmit that Cryptic command is a better counterspell in EDH than Force of will (Still the best over all counterspell ever printed)  Mana drain is the best in the format. 

TO tyguy.  I was curious why Kiki Jiki didnt make the list of over priced staples and cheap alternitives?  I think though you would be hard pressed to find reasons not to play kikijiki unless you do not want to combo build with him.  Even if you do not.  SO many EDH creatures have powerful EBT effects I think you would be hard pressed to find a deck that he doesnt fit in.  I Run a rainbow progen deck that runs 23 legandary creatures.  I still find a place for Kiki Jiki,  becuase the non legendary creatures I run in the deck are amazing

I agree with most of the assemnt on this list.  and I would like to second that I think this is the best article that you have written.

Lastley I would like to mention Chord of calling as a cheap budget to tooth and nail.  Now while not the exact effect.  I feel it merits a mention.  In a riku deck does a really good impression of tooth and nail. 

I would like to sugest a topic for you.  Underrated cards in EDH.  There was a lengthy thread on here about the subject and it got a lot of posts.

Keep up the good work

Mox

Feb 12, 2013 -- 5:38AM, Disturbed185 wrote:

I'm aware of possible situations. That's why I said in a vacuum.

Imagine this scenario. Your opponent just cast Wit's End on you. Your next draw is Mana Drain . You follow your following turn by whiffing and drawing a land.

Now in this same scenario with Cryptic Command you can Dismiss and hope to draw additional action. You can pseudo- fog , to buy time if you're on that sort of clock. You can Boomerang Aurelia, the Warleader / Oblivion Stone / The Abyss to the opponent's hand. I'm sorry but there's just so many more situations that this card is amazing at. This is kindof redundant. This card is strictly better in real world applications. Yes Mana Drain is going to be bigger, splashier and just better some of the time. But most of the time Cryptic Command is better.

Im not saying cryptic command is not amazing.  It certinely is.  I feel its most prohibitive drawback is the UUU in the casting cost.  And cryptic command is not always game breaking and mana drain isn't always game breaking but far and away the best two counter spells in format.  The UUU makes cryptic command a harder splash for decks that can not afford shock-dual-fetch lands.  Now if you can't afford those the likley hood of affording a mana drain is low.  So because of avilbility and money cost and game state affect should cryptic command be run in every deck that has blue?  I know I do.  The same goes for mana drain.  If you can run it in a deck that has blue go ahead.  But as I have played it It usally ends up being a dismiss that costs one more U to cast. (However I never run dismiss)  The other two options on mana cryptic are what pushes it over the top into game breaking.  It has saved my life sevral times by tapping an opponets creatures down when they are about to swing for leathel. It is amazing but not every time I cast it does something amazing happen.   When I cast mana drain I almost alway have an epic next turn. 

I would also like to add about arguing over wich one of these cards is better is silly.  They are both incredible

Cryptic out shines mana drain when your deck isn't capable of using the free mana and winning.

In almost all respects I find arcane denial better than both in the average blue deck.

I can only assumed you guys have never played with mana drain. One of the perks of playing online, I guess (when I got my drains they costed about 12 tix a pop).

I really don't agree with both disturbed185 and niheloim's assessments. Mana drain is not just good in 'some' situations. How often does an opponent do something you'd rather they didn't? EVERY TURN. How often do you wish you had more mana available? EVERY TURN. In the obscure example disturbed185 gave (who plays wit's end in multiplayer? Seriously?), any more expensive card with a bigger effect is going to look better than a smaller counterpart. Relic crush would be preferable to nature's claim , even though it's a worse card overall. Thran dynamo would be better than sol ring . Opportunity would be preferable to ancestral recall , etc....you get the point. A situation where you have lots of mana and nothing to do with it is not a position you should be in very often....and if you are, you should be doing some deck tuning to prevent that from being the case.

I'm not bashing command - I love that card. But the mana surge you get from drain is far more powerful than you're giving it credit for, AND you're ignoring the fact that mana cost is very important to countermagic. It's debateable whether or not drain's effect is more powerful than cryptic (the mana generation is stronger than any of cryptic's modes, and the flexibility is what makes it debateable), but at half the mana cost it's a no-brainer that it's the better card.